A Promise
by Levity
Summary: FE9: Being re-written! Mia, Stefan, and Zihark. They called themselves the swordmaster trio- until it suddenly became a duo. Thus, a promise was made; one Mia had hoped would be kept. She felt like she'd forgotten something, though... Mia/Stefan
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fire Emblem, or any of it's characters. Because if I did, ohhh, the things I would've done to Valtome. The THINGS. Zelgius WOULD have snapped his neck, and I would've went, "haha, stupid biiitch."

This probably isn't going to have very many chapters, I don't think I'm really very good at longer stories anyway. Hee.

Swordmasters for the win.

fffffffffffffffffff

Chapter 1

fff

__

"Which one are you aimin' at this time?"

"Hm.. that one." A man riding a ballista pointed at his next target. The sage next to him arched a brow.

"Eh? Why him?"

The sniper stared at his friend for a minute. "Oh damn, you don't know how deadly they really are, do you?"

"Well, I didn't really see much fighting on my side. I'm a new recruit around these parts of Daein."

"Well, trust me," The sniper replied, "You gotta get them sword guys before they get too close. I say this through experience."

"Ah.." The sage shuddered at some thoughts that came to mind. "Well, what if you miss?"

"Don't worry. I won't."

The sage chuckled. "All right. Hope all goes well."

"Same t' you. Remember what I said."

"Right."

ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff

The great bridge was a rather extraordinary sight to Mia. Never before did she think she'd be able to see rather amazing things like what had been before her eyes now (she actually couldn't remember the name of the bridge); it almost made her sort of dizzy. It was the border between Daein and Crimea, this bridge. It was gigantic and mesmorizing, and left you wondering how it was so _sturdy._

"Hey, Mia! How are you doing over there?"

"Huh?" The swordmaster spun around to see the second member of their trio running towards her, and she gave a slight grin. "Heh.. I'm doing fine. This place is just so..."

"... Big?" Zihark attempted to finish, and Mia started to giggle.

"More like gigantic!" Mia stretched her arms wide as she said this, and Zihark had wondered how Mia could be all cheerful and excited when everyone was fighting. Though, that was just Mia. She was always peppy and spunky and assorted other words that made her... her.

"All right," Zihark replied, "Well, I'm going back to where I was then. Keep your guard up! Remember, this place may be different from what most of us have seen, but this is still a battlefield!"

"I know! I'll be careful!" Mia waved as Zihark left to take care of more Daein soldiers, and she then took a quick glance around to see if she could find Stefan. When she caught sight of him with Mordecai running after a group of axe-wielders and such, she felt her bit of relief that she needed. As long as she knew her friends were all right, she could fight to her full power. And she did of course, catching up to the others as they advanced forward across the bridge.

Mia didn't like the looks of the sage that suddenly appeared in front of her. He seemed confident, a little _too_ confident, an elfire tome in his right hand. She lunged after him quickly, trying to erase the look of _utter-confidence_ that burned in her mind just then. She had no idea why it had started to bother her so much, even as she easily dodged the fiery attack that was launched at her, and even as she finally struck him down. Drops of blood had sputtered into the air as he fell, and there still seemed to be traces of that _look_ on his face even as he lie dead on the ground. As if his last words had been, "It doesn't matter if I die." She didn't know what that was supposed to mean, of course, but it still made her feel slightly uneasy. Mia tried to hide this feeling by running her fingers through her long, purple hair, and continuing on her way.

ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff

Zihark found himself somewhat halt in terror even though he shouldn't have. It was a fatal mistake- he knew he could hear the lethal _click_ and his inner-consious muttering "_damn"_; there was a second he couldn't remember, maybe it was him realizing his error, and now it was too late to change it. The bolt came towards him fast and unforgiving.

His thought before feeling the pain overwhelming him and him stumbling backwards onto the cold, hard ground was, "_How bitterly ironic."_

ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff

She didn't know when exactly it had happened. Maybe it's because she didn't want it to happen, or maybe it just happened way too fast for her to comprehend at first. In all of her merry daydreams, she forgot about the swordmaster-haters (she gave them a nickname, yes) that were just conveniently set up around the bridge; and now it was too late to take care of the snipers controlling them before they could do anything.

Mia was frozen in one spot as she watched the whole thing. She thought she could hear a triumphant "Aha, I got 'im!" coming from somewhere distant, which filled her with hatred. Hatred, terror, maybe something else that she couldn't exactly understand. All of this welled up inside of her until she could barely even stand up; and, finally, she had to let it all out.

__

"Zihark!"

Her cry was so loud that it might've been heard for miles if the fighting had been quieter. Some thought it might've broken a record; however, nothing could've been as record breaking as Mia's speed when she started to run. She ran to her friend in a rush of panic and guilt. If only she had paid more attention, then maybe she would've noticed them sooner... maybe it would've been her instead, something better than this...

She wondered if Stefan had seen Zihark fall, too, or had at least noticed it. The rather frightened swordmaster didn't feel like looking around for him, though there had been a frustrated roar nearby and she assumed that at least Mordecai had seen it as well. She didn't know if anyone else could have noticed since most of them were already ahead; Mia had only just realized that she had fallen drastically behind, but she didn't care.

ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff

Stefan wiped dirt from his face as he climbed out of the pitfall he had fallen into. It wasn't the only time it had happened, of course, but it was getting a tad bit annoying. He heard a growl and noticed Mordecai had seemed to be looking at something as he had gotten back up; the tiger laguz turned back and asked, "Stefan. Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine," Stefan replied, dusting himself off, "But something seems to have your attention."

"Grr.. I think one of your friends is hurt."

"Hm?" The Branded swordmaster looked in the direction Mordecai seemed to be facing and thought he could spot Mia rushing over to somewhere as fast as she could. No wonder he could swear he had heard someone...

"Stefan... go to her. I saw your other friend go down... she might be in danger, too."

"Right." Before he did anything, Stefan reminded himself of the nearby sniper and asked Mordecai if he could get rid of him.

"Once I transform again, I will do that for you," He had answered.

"Thanks."

ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff

Mia didn't know when she had finally reached Zihark in her confused state of thought, and the sight of him barely alive on the ground made her feel like she was going to die as well. His breathing was shallow and he didn't have much time to live, Mia had guessed. The sniper had rather good aim, she thought grimly; to get a swordmaster square in the chest like that at such a distance was a difficult feat. And yet he had done it. "I'm so sorry, Zihark," Mia could barely talk without choking up, "You told me to be more attentive to my surroundings, and yet you were the one to... I... I'm a horrible..." She faltered, her ability to speak failing her for the moment.

Zihark coughed a few times, as if he were attempting to laugh. Mia was rather surprised at this reaction. She could see a little regret in his eyes, like he felt sad to be leaving them, but there wasn't much sadness besides that. As in, he seemed rather.. peaceful. "Don't.. worry," he managed to say in a barely audible tone, "It isn't.. your fault."

"But I..."

"Sometimes.. there are some.. things that... we can't avoid."

".. Things we.. can't avoid?"

"Yes," Zihark's struggle to utter his last words was immense, "Things... like.. our deaths. And it... just happened.. to be my.. time..." He closed his eyes and sighed a final, tranquil sigh, and that was it.

Mia had remained in that same spot for some time, silent and trembling, down on her knees. She didn't cry; for some reason she couldn't. She reminded herself of Ike in a way. When his father died, he didn't cry. Of course, losing a close parent like that had most likely felt much worse than losing a friend, so she probably couldn't compare very well.

She also didn't notice that the archer near them was still alive- but Stefan had, of course. Mia suddenly heard a shout behind her, and found herself being pulled backwards; an arrow landed right at her feet, and she winced. She had almost just met the same fate. Damned snipers. "That was close," said a familiar voice behind her, "He already got one of us, so that should be enough for him." Mia sighed a kind of heavy sigh, and Stefan wasn't sure whether it was a guilty sigh, a relieved sigh, a sigh of grief, or all three. He assumed it was, most likely, the last one. "Mia, are you all right?" He asked.

"Not really."

"Ah, I see. Well then." A dazed Mia then discovered herself being lifted onto the swordsman's shoulder, and he then said, "Hang on. Mordecai said he would take care of the sniper for us, and I believe Ike is heading for General Petrine as we speak. This battle's about to be over soon, I see it."

"Okay..." She really couldn't understand much of anything right now, and most of what Stefan had just told her seemed to have floated away into some unknown location outside of Mia's current attention span. She felt a sort of strange calmness at this point; maybe this had been one of those things where the shock would strike much, much later and _then_ she would feel absolutely terrible, but right now, she just let herself drift into a period of what she called semi-consiousness. But if there was one thing in the world that she was absolutely sure of at this moment was that she was exhausted.

"Stefan?"

"Hm? What is it?"

"I'm sorry... I couldn't do anything, I--"

"Mia, don't worry. Just calm down."

"All right..."

-End of chapter 1-

fffffffffffffffffff

I think it was the day after Christmas or something, my sister was watching me play Path of Radiance and I was on chapter 23. I was doing really well on it and Zihark was randomly critical'd by a ballista and I was like, "... Do not waaaant." And then this idea came to mind. Lawl.


	2. Chapter 2

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fire Emblem or any of it's characters.

Um, yeah, for those of you who didn't notice, chapter one got a major edit job. I just didn't like it and so I didn't want to start on this chapter until I was more satisfied with the first one, lawl. It's much better now so if you want to reread it, you can...

Quick note: The first review I got on this fanfiction, I noticed, was my sister's. She accidentally left herself signed in on my account lawl... I just didn't want anyone thinking I was crazy or something and reviewing my own stories. Bleh.

ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff

Chapter 2

fff

"Ike. I've been looking for you," Soren said, having found Ike standing outside the fort, "I'm here to give you my report."

"Of the last battle?" Ike asked, and Soren nodded.

"Yes."

"All right. Have it at me, then.. how did it turn out?"

"Well... there were a few casualties. Most of them were the Crimean soldiers that had joined later on to aid us, but there was also the man that we recruited in Port Toha."

"Hm?" Ike had paused a moment, then replied, "I see.. Zihark was his name, wasn't it?"

"I believe so."

"Ah.. yeah, I remember him. We had conversed a few times on the way to Begnion... think it would hurt to give him a proper burial?"

"Probably not... we can do so before we leave. Anyway, if you'll excuse me..."

Soren slipped back into the fort and disappeared. Ike looked behind for a moment to watch the mage walk away, and soon went back inside as well.

fffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff

Mia had remained locked in the same small room for almost all of the rest of the day. Every once in a while, someone would knock at the door and ask if she was all right; most of the time it had been Rhys. Mia didn't answer most of them, though she would occasionally answer "I'm fine." She knew that no one would really believe that, but all she really wanted- and probably needed- was some time alone.

The room, she assumed, was a type of storage room. There were a few lanterns and torches scattered here and there, but that was all she really paid attention to. She didn't take the time to look around, all she really did was dwell in a certain corner and think. Well, that was probably what it was called since she still couldn't cry- maybe a few silent tears- so she just spent most of that time alone... thinking.

It was late at night when yet another knock had come at the door. Mia awoke from her doze (she actually couldn't remember falling asleep in the first place), and took a few moments to stand up, almost stumbling back down again. She heard someone's voice quietly ask, "Mia? Are you still in here?" and she sighed. It wasn't Rhys or any of them this time; in fact, she was almost glad when she recognized whose voice it was.

"Yeah, I'm still here," Mia replied, her voice slightly hoarse, "Hold on..." She unlocked the door and opened it slowly. She was still half-asleep as she was doing this, and thus Stefan got a surprise when Mia fell right into him. He didn't fall over with her, however, as he had caught her in time.

"Hm.. you were in there quite a while, Mia," Stefan told her, "The others have been rather worried about you."

"Mm, ..ah..." For some reason, when Mia tried to speak right then and there, she was then struck with the overwhelming urge to cry. Finally, she had thought. After all, she knew it would happen. She would hear from some that witnessing the death of someone close would usually have unpredictable effects on the emotions of the witnesses. She hadn't ever wanted to know how it really felt, though, but of course it had come to be true to her anyway.

The two had been there in that spot for a bit as Mia buried her face in Stefan's chest and, of course, began to cry. Her sobs were muffled but could still be heard by others; some had even gathered around to see what was wrong, despite what time it was. No one really said anything or got too close, as they most likely didn't want to interfere with whatever they thought was happening. Stefan had eventually started walking Mia to her room, the others still watching and listening intently. Mia really didn't like the attention much, and Stefan had tried once to get at least some of them away, but it was to no avail. He noticed Rhys had been amongst them as well, but all the bishop really did was smile and return to his room.

At last they had made it to the room Mia would be staying in for the night. She had been done crying at this point, but she had asked the green-haired swordmaster to stay with her a little longer. He didn't object, and so the two went into the room, shutting the door behind them. The others who had been watching had left, and so the two were left with the privacy they had wanted.

"... So, Mia," Stefan said, "Are you feeling better?"

"Mm, I guess," Mia replied, her voice a little weak from crying, "I think I just... needed to let it out.."

"Heh, well, I could understand that." The two had been sitting next to each other on a cot. Mia didn't feel tired, however; she assumed it was probably because she fell asleep in the storage room, or at least thought she did. She couldn't tell if Stefan was tired or not, though he didn't seem to be. Mia sighed, ready to face the reality of what she was about to say next.

"So.. I guess there's only two of us now, huh?"

To Mia, Stefan seemed to hesitate as well before giving his reply, "I guess so. It is rather strange, isn't it?"

"Yeah... it happened pretty fast. I can still remember meeting you guys back when I was still looking for a challenging opponent. Ah... I haven't been so shaken since the... thing with the raven king..."

Stefan had to admit that, every time the raven king incident was mentioned, he would shiver a bit. It wasn't too noticeable, unless you were paying close attention, which Mia wasn't. He was glad of this. "Well, Zihark was a great man. I'm sure all of us will remember him..."

Mia had started scooting closer to Stefan all of a sudden. She had wanted to ask him something before the morning came again, because they would have to leave early to reunite Elincia with her retainers. The weary, purple-haired girl started to become drowsy, so she hurried just in case she were to fall asleep again. "Stefan... will you... make me a promise?"

"Hm? What kind of promise?"

"Promise me... that you won't leave me alone. I wouldn't know what to do... if you died too..."

Stefan smiled after this, though Mia didn't notice; she had already trailed off into a deep slumber. "I promise," He replied, as Mia had cuddled closer in her sleep.

-End of chapter 2-

ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff

Oh yeah, the raven king thing was mentioned in my short story collection. Basically, Stefan was almost killed in chapter 19 because Naesala was a bitch.

Chapter three is coming soon


	3. Chapter 3

DISCLAIMER: Nope, I still don't own Fire Emblem or any of it characters.

Thanks to my reviewers, and here's chapter three. I'll make the dividers official later... 'sides, I like my f's...

Oh yeah, erm, the way Mia, Zihark, and Stefan actually met and became friends is gradually explained... I'm trying to explain it in a way that won't take up a whole chapter/sound stupid/whatever, so yeah.

ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff

Chapter 3

fff

_"Ah.. then does this mean we'll be sticking together from now on?"_

_"Seems it to me."_

_"Yay! I've got sparring partners now! ... Right?"_

_"Well, what shall we call our little group of friends?"_

_".. Hm..."_

_"Let's just call ourselves a little trio. Does it sound all right?_

_"Yeah! Let's promise to watch out for each other, too!"_

_"Forever as the swordmaster trio... yes, it does have a nice ring to it..."_

_"The swordmaster trio..."_

_"The friends of three!"_

ffff

Mia woke up rather early in the morning, trying to grasp what fragments of her dream she could still get ahold of. What was that dream, anyway? A memory... ? Still feeling rather groggy, she rubbed her eyes and stretched, attempting to remember when exactly she fell asleep. She recalled telling Stefan something, and she had been really tired. What she had been telling him, however, was still a bit of a blur to her. The purple-haired girl sat up, taking a quick glance around. She found Stefan sleeping, sitting upright against the door, his vague katti resting at his side, and blinked. _"Did he remain here the whole night?"_ Mia thought, maybe with a bit of confusion, though she couldn't really tell if it was confusion. It could have been some relieved form of happiness, or perhaps even a bit of sorrow... the dream must've had something to do with it...

As she was getting up and ready, Stefan eventually awoke himself. After a few moments, in the middle of a yawn, he said, "Good morning, Mia."

"Hm?" Mia turned to her waking friend and replied "Ah, good morning!" with a touch of cheerfulness. Stefan was rather surprised, if not even a bit amused, by this.

"Haha, you seem your usual self this morning," Stefan teased, though in reality he had felt a little joy somewhere inside of him seeing his formally-depressed friend acting lively again. It was probably temporary (actually, it was most likely temporary), but it was still nice to see, even if just for the moment.

The two were mostly silent afterwards as the morning progressed and everyone else had been starting out their day as well, most getting something to eat somewhere. Some had been doing other things; Haar had still been asleep, for example. Actually, nearly every time Mia saw him, he'd be dozing off somewhere. Even in battle. No one ever knew what Soren was doing, and it had been rather understood that no one really wanted to know what Aimee happened to be up to.

"Good morning, you two," Ike had greeted as Stefan and Mia finally left the room they had spent the night in, "Are you all ready for today?"

"Yeah!" Mia had slightly lied, "I feel ready.. for anything!" The slight pause in her response was enough for Stefan to notice that she was still feeling a little uneasy; Ike, however, was too dense to really notice anything.

"Ike," Stefan had intentionally decided to change the subject, "I've been watching... your dance of blades. You really have improved since the lessons I gave you, haven't you?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah.. I guess you could say that," The man had seemed slightly puzzled (Stefan was able to puzzle a lot of people, actually), "Well... if you two are ready, I'm going to go find Soren then. I have no idea where he's run off to again, but..." Ike's voice trailed away as the blue-haired general went to search for his faithful tactician.

Mia sighed- which seemed to be quite common recently, though this one had been rather content- and slumped against a wall. "Thanks for that one."

"It's fine, really," her friend replied, "I know you wouldn't have felt.. comfortable if Ike were to bring up certain things."

"Mm.." Mia closed her eyes for a minute as if she were thinking deeply about something, or pondering about what to say next. When she finally stood up straight again, she merely said, "Let's go get something to eat, 'kay? I don't know about you, but I could eat a full-grown wyvern!"

Stefan laughed, "Isn't it Ilyana's job to get that hungry?"

"Well, I haven't really eaten since earlier yesterday... I skipped dinner, remember?"

"Heh, well, guess I can't blame you on that one."

fffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff

Soren mumbled silently to himself. There was a lot to get done in the upcoming day, and this... this was getting in the way of it. The raven-haird tactician also didn't see why he had to be the one to tell the remaining duo of the burial, but he never did question Ike about anything. He would just follow; even if it meant facing Stefan again. Soren cringed a bit inside- he was never too fond of Stefan. It was most likely the fact that they were both Branded, and Soren loathed everything that reminded him of his heritage.

Even so... Ike was one of the first and only ones that accepted him for who he was, and even if it meant facing one hundred Branded, he would endure it if he had to. It was just in his loyalty, he presumed.

Soren slipped quietly, much in the way of an assassin, through the mass of those eating. He noticed most were about finished, which the mage found quite pleasing; the faster they moved, the faster they could get back to traveling again. Now, if he could just get this done...

"Hm? Soren?" The boy then discovered that Mia had already noticed him slowly making his way to the two. "What is it?" _Splendid,_ Soren thought to himself, _This only makes things that more easier._

"Mia," Soren replied, trying his hardest to hide the slight irritation in his voice, "I was... informed that you and Stefan were particularly close to one of yesterday's fallen."

"Ah.. yes, what of it?" Mia had started to fidget with her hair as a type of oncoming stress response, and the Branded swordmaster that annoyed Soren to no end had been towering (the way Soren described it, with Stefan being very tall and such) over Mia like some sort of bodyguard. He didn't really _say_ anything, but his continuous grin was on his face, the grin of someone who enjoyed life to the fullest. Soren almost wished it would go away, but he tried not to pay too much attention to it. He felt as if Stefan were watching him fight with himself and had been finding it _enjoyable_. Of course, it was probably just all in his mind.

"Well," Soren continued, looking as calm as he possibly could, "Ike suggested we give him a proper burial before we head off soon to escort princess Elincia to her surviving retainers, in case you wanted to.. see him. I... apologize for.. your loss." The way Soren had said the last sentence was as best as someone like Soren could do.

Mia sighed. "It's.. fine."

"Well, I.. best get going." Soren seemed somewhat flustered as he slipped back into the crowd of people and was out of sight in an instant. Thus, Mia and Stefan stood there for a while as the last clusters of people got finished eating. Finally, Mia stood upright again.

"Think we should go see him? I mean.. before we go?"

Stefan seemed somewhat grim for a moment, but replied, "Yes. I think we should."

-End of chapter 3-

fffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff

Gu, sorry this took forever. It was supposed to be longer, but I didn't want to drag it too long so I decided to just end it there. Also, I feel like I didn't get Soren in character, maybe... anyways, chapter 4 is coming soon


	4. Chapter 4

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Fire Emblem, wheee

By the way, chapter one got another edit job. And chapter two is next. Yey.

ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff

Chapter 4

fff

_"Ah, Mia. I've been looking for you."_

_"Huh? What is it?"_

_"There's.. something you should know. Tell me... do you feel comfortable around me?"_

_"Um.. yeah... what do you mean by that?"_

_"Would you.. feel any differently if I told you I'm one of the Branded?"_

_"... Branded? I feel like I've... heard that word before. Is it something bad?"_

_"Mm, actually, it depends on how you view it I guess. Let me explain... a Branded is someone who has the mixed blood of both laguz and beorc. It's something that isn't too common, but I do know others of my kind."_

_"Wait, so... that really can happen? Wow... that's so interesting."_

_"I see. So, it doesn't upset you?"_

_"Not really... it actually fascinates me, in a way. I mean, Zihark told me that he once dated a laguz before..."_

_"Hah, really? He never told me anything like that."_

_"He told me that everyone looked down on them for it, and all of the pressure forced them apart... I feel almost sorry for him, really."_

_"Well, they all say that the Goddess forbids laguz and beorc to interbreed, and yet, people like us have still come into exsistence. And thus we are constantly shunned for it. We are outcasts. Others hate.. who we are."_

_"But... I think you're really amazing! I mean, simply watching you fight out there reminds me of how much I still have to learn, and even conversing with you... it's just so... fascinating, if that's the word I'm looking for. So.. really! I wouldn't hate you no matter what."_

_"Heh... you sound like Mordecai right now. I like that. Never... lose that way of thinking."_

fffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff

Visiting someone's grave was always noticably depressing. It could be assumed that nearly everyone knew this, especially people like Ike, and especially people like Mia. Mia tried not to show how shaken she really was on the inside; times like this had made her almost envy Stefan for having the ability to look so, well, _calm._

Zihark's grave was rather similar to Greil's in a way (only, picture a killing edge instead of Urvan), and so Mia came to the conclusion that it was probably Ike and/or some of the mercenaries that buried him. She just stood in front of it for a moment, as if offering a silent prayer. Her daze, or whatever sort of trance it was, was broken when she felt a hand rest on her shoulder. "You still believe that it was your fault. Am I correct?"

Mia found herself caught slightly off-guard by this; she was about to say something, but faltered. Instead, she just heaved a sigh, similar to the one Stefan heard the day before. "Mia.. don't blame yourself. I can tell you've been rather.. unlike yourself as of late."

"I... I'm sorry," came Mia's response after a while, "It's just kind of... hard, I guess."

"I could understand that," Stefan replied, "However, I don't think Zihark would've wanted you upset, would he?"

"Well, I know he wouldn't..." The girl's voice drifted off. It looked as if she were pondering for something to say, though she was silent for a while before continuing again.

"Hm?"

".. Mm," Mia finally responded, "It's just... do you remember, y'know, the day we all first met?"

"I can believe the memory is still vivid in my mind," Stefan said.

"I.. remember it now. I had a dream last night. It.. was about the promise we made. We said we'd stick up for each other no matter what, through thick and thin, all of that.. stuff.."

"Yes, I can recall. You feel like you broke that promise, don't you?"

There was no response. Silence ruled another moment once again, save for a few birds chirping in a kind of group chorus. It was rather difficult, of course, remembering minutes of time where you weren't exactly paying attention to the time around you, and Mia knew she had experience with this, probably. She was the excitable one, after all. Grieving was harder than she remembered it to be, but there was something else that she just couldn't exactly.. understand at first glance. Something indescribable, something...

This thread of thought was cut again as Mia all of a sudden felt an embrace; she blinked as a pair of arms wrapped around her suddenly, and she thought she could recall a certain moment in the dream, or whatever it was, once again. The confused girl then heard Stefan's voice say, "Mia, it really wasn't your fault. You couldn't have prevented it, you know. You must understand that, sometimes, there are things that must happen."

The familiarity of what her friend happened to say at that point made Mia almost want to cry again, but it wouldn't have helped anything, so she just nodded. She mentioned the similarity Stefan's words were to Zihark's at that moment; the reply she had recieved was, "Well, it _is_ true. That, and.. I simply do not like seeing you like this, Mia. And, as I said earlier, I'm sure Zihark doesn't either."

Mia shivered slightly and replied with an "I know," and before anything more could be said, footsteps could be heard behind them. Stefan ended the embrace with his friend and stood up straight. The footsteps belonged to the one and only General Ike, who looked almost interested at that moment, but it sort of went away. He seemed to be straightening his hair, or something to that effect, as he asked, "Are you guys prepared? We're setting off now."

"Yes, I believe we are ready to be leaving. Right, Mia?"

"Mm.. yeah, I think we're ready, boss." The swordmaster was shocked at how long it seemed to have been since she had called Ike that name. Where _had_ she been all this time, anyway?

fffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff

It wasn't surprising that yet another battle had resulted as they made it to the castle- more Daeins thought they had the upper hand, apparently. At least until Ike's troops came and started kicking ass, much to the displeasure of Elincia's escorting retainers, Lucia and Bastian, who resented the idea of getting into a skirmish. At least, until after a time. They eventually followed Ike's words of, "the Princess shall get what she wants from us", and decided to join in as well. Elincia, of course, almost didn't approve of this, but returned it with a, "come back to me alive". Like they usually do, really.

Stefan kept close watch over Mia the entire battle; she did fine, and so did he. The enemy general almost didn't make this so, yet Rhys had, and when Stefan heard Mia sigh with relief, he replied with a smile, "I promised you I wouldn't leave you, and I won't."

And that night, when she and him stood outside of the castle after the rain ended and the only light they had came from the fireflies illuminating around them, Mia had said, "Thank you.."

"Hm? For what?"

"For keeping the promise..."

Stefan chuckled slightly, "Well, you have Rhys to thank for that one as well." There was no response, except for another embrace, this time coming from Mia. Stefan returned it and replied, "You're welcome, Mia."

fffff

I think the chapter after this is going to be the last one... oh, and it's going to skip to the endgame chapter of FE9, or I at least have it planned that way. If I end up skipping it to chapter 27 instead like I had planned it before, I'll update. Whee. Anyways, thank you reviewers, and stay tuned for chapter fiiiive.


	5. Chapter 5

DISCLAIMER: No, Bizz does not own Fire Emblem, silly thing. Since when did she say _that_?

Actually, I promise with every ounce of my being to you all that the next chapter story I might end up starting now that this one is finished won't be as horrendously short and.. as _eh_ as this one was. I also really hope I'm not flamed for how this ended. I had people vote on this, in reality; I didn't know how to end it. By the way, like I said, this chapter skips to the endgame of Path of Radiance; read and enjoy :'D

'o'o'o'

Chapter 5

'o'o'o'

It was hard to believe, in actuality, that this was the final battle.

It was also hard to believe, in Mia's viewpoint, that she had actually survived all this time, let alone Stefan as well; other members of the army had joined Zihark as time progressed, and the weary swordmaster disliked talking about it. Fighting had gotten more rough as of late; it was to be expected, of course. Though, Mia had assumed that part of the reason for this might have been the fact that she was only part of a duo now, and fighting had been so... _empty,_ so _devoid_ of completeness without Zihark. Despite how many others had been on their side, that had been allies, it still just seemed so _different_. As much as she had been comforted by Stefan, by Ike, by Rhys, even by Mordecai and and Mist sometimes, nothing had been the same without their third member, that's for sure.

The girl had also felt more nervous than usual that day, the day that Ashnard was to fall to the Crimean Liberation army and the day that the Mad King's War would finally end. That was to be expected, too, since it was the end of a whole year (and more) of _war,_ for crying out loud- but she just had some feeling deep in her gut that unnerved her a little. She couldn't define what it was.

"Listen, everyone!" Began Ike, giving one last speech to his troops before they were to march through the gates of the castle of Crimea to victory (they at least hoped and prayed to Ashera herself it'd be victory, anyway). Mia's attention span wavered from there, and Stefan had suddenly given her a playful pat on the back.

"Is something troubling you, Mia?" He had asked.

Mia shook her head. "No, not really," She replied, "I was just.. thinking."

"Mm. Is there anything specific you were thinking about?"

"Ah... I don't think so, maybe it's just the.. importance of today. I don't know whether to call it being nervous or excited that everything's going to finally be _over,_" Mia had paused for a minute. "But, either way, I can barely stand straight!"

"Well, I'm sure the vast majority of the army and even the citizens of Crimea indeed have similar feelings to yours at this particular moment. I admit, even I'm feeling a little uneasy."

"But _how?_ You're so much more calm than me. How do you do it?"

Stefan chuckled. "Maybe it's the fact that I've lived longer?"

"Well, maybe.." Mia couldn't help giggling a little, except it was a rather nervous-sounding giggle. There probably would have been more to the conversation, but it was cut short by the cheers and such that sounded from the rest of the army after Ike finished his rather awkward speech.

"Well, it's time, Mia," Stefan said afterwards, "Are you ready?"

"As ready as I can be!" said Mia in a I-really-hope-I-can-do-this tone; Stefan just laughed teasingly once more as the two headed on with the others through the castle gates.

'o'o'o'

"Welcome, welcome; I have been waiting for you all to come for a very long time," Ashnard spoke loudly, making sure everyone who happened to be there could hear- and he had, of course, been doing a very good job of it. "I see you've all lived long enough to see me? Yes, how very fortunate for me- now I shall see your true might, right here!!" Mia had somewhat seen Princess Elincia confront Ashnard in the middle of his greeting. This was followed by him pushing her away forcefully and Ike shouting something like, "You're going to die today, Ashnard!"

"Is that so?" Ashnard had replied, "Haha! Well, let's see if you can make it through my strongest soldiers, shall we? I can't wait to see... how far you can come! Hahahaha.. !!"

Mia had found something about Ashnard's wyvern mount to be rather... strange, to say the least. However, she shook off all doubts and feelings of the same sort, and drew her sword to ready herself for the upcoming fight. She sighed slightly to calm herself down.

The final battle had now begun. Wyvern calls boomed throughout the atmosphere, pegasi took off to the air, arrows flew, blades clashed.

She couldn't tell if what she heard right after that was some sort of battle cry- maybe from Kieran- but, nevertheless, Mia tried her hardest not to let anything distract her as she fought.

And thus she continued on, cutting down any enemy that dared to rush after her.

Soon enough, a general unit appeared, obviously challenging her to a duel.

'o'o'o'

"Grr... Stefan."

"Hm?" The desert swordsman turned to see the large tiger laguz standing behind him. "Yes, Mordecai?"

"Rr, I feel like... your friend is having trouble fighting."

"Hm? How so?" Stefan had scanned the battlefield, that had once been a peaceful Crimean garden, for Mia as soon as he heard Mordecai inform him. He found her almost instantly- there had indeed seemed to be something amiss as she was facing off against an enemy general.

"I am not sure, but..." Mordecai had stopped as he noticed the rainbow-outfitted swordmaster now paying extra attention to his fellow swordmaster's plight. This was no ordinary general by the looks of it.

"Hm... this isn't like Mia," Stefan observed, preparing himself to sprint after her, "Normally, she can best heavily-amored foes with great ease."

"I think... I heard him shout his name," Mordecai said slowly, "It might have been 'Bryce', but I am not sure."

"Bryce?" A concerned frown found itself upon Stefan's face, which was uncommon for the normally-smiling man, "Ah, I see. The last of Daein's Four Riders, I take it."

"What will you do?"

"I'm... going after her," Came Stefan's reply. He never did add, "I only hope I am able to make it in time," for the number of Daein soldiers surrounding them had indeed posed a bit of a problem when it came to speed, especially the feral dragons.

'o'o'o'

Mia winced. This man was surely harsh when it came to fighting, that was for sure. She hadn't encountered anyone as skilled as him since the general at the Daein capital (which she barely made out of if it hadn't been for Zihark, which brought back yet another distracting memory), and while she was almost excited to find such a challenging opponent in so long, she was as frightened- he wasn't tiring at all, almost as if he were invincible. _"His armor looks so heavy! Why.. why hasn't he worn out yet?!"_ Mia had thought, her sword still meeting with his lance, the powerful Wishblade, at full force.

"Hm.. I must say, you are a rather worthy opponent," said the general, still watching Mia's movement and attacks and returning them with his own, "However..."

He halted, and Mia did the same. The two stood still and silent, despite the combat and chaos happening around them; the two who were once dueling seemed to be paitently waiting for each other to fight again in a realm of tension, though Mia had merely been waiting for the man to finish what he was going to say. She had taken hold of this pause to pant in exhaustion, and her enemy had noticed her weariness and smirked. ".. However," He had continued, somehow putting more emphasis in it this time, "I believe you are at the end of you strength, are you not?" Mia didn't respond, and the general started to laugh. "Ah ha ha! Well, pup, you put up a good fight, especially being a female warrior, but now you are to fall to Bryce: Four Rider of Daein!" He had a confident grin on his face, and the memory of the _look of confidence_ on the sage's face right before the bolt of the ballista had taken Zihark flashed before Mia's very mind as he had done so.

This announcment that the general made had also seemed to bring some attention to the both of them, and another one of Mia's failed cautions had practically been shoved right into her face as she made a lethal error: her dizzying thoughts left her unguarded, and she was too late to notice.

The next thing she knew was the excruciating pain that came next, which shot through her like lightning as the Wishblade was impaled through her left side, through her ribcage. She gasped a terrible, painful gasp afterwards before the lance was pulled out again; she immediately felt a sinking feeling, as if she were withering away into nothing, into a void of nothingness, her senses were failing her, everything was fading into space as her blood was spilling away, endless, cruel laughter was heard...

And the falling feeling ceased, seemingly in mid-air. In reality, she couldn't tell if she was floating or if she was only imagining it, but she still found it more comforting than whatever was happening before.

'o'o'o'

Stefan cursed to himself; he had not made it in time as he had feared, as he rushed up and caught his dying friend in his arms, or rather, she fell into him roughly. Mia looked up at him with such confusion in her eyes- it was enough to distress nearly anyone, and Stefan learned this rather quickly. Bryce had his bloodied Wishblade brandished in the air to mark his triumph, and so he didn't notice the colorful blur that somehow managed to make it's way behind him, vague katti drawn and held at his neck. He froze there in the same stance.

"And now you shall get yours, Bryce of Daein."

'o'o'o'

"St.. Stefan?" Mia managed to choke out as she felt the familiar sensation of being carried, "I... where are--"

"I'm taking you someplace with more.. tranquility," Stefan interrupted; he didn't seem to mind the bright red stain growing on his own outfit from his friend's wound. Mia simply nodded weakly in response, although, she waited until they were in a far corner of the garden away from the fighting before she attempted speaking again.

"Hey... Stefan?"

"Yes, Mia?"

"I-I'm... sorry..."

"Hm? For what? In my perspective, it seems I'm the one who should be apologizing."

"But... y-you don't... have to.. be, you know.."

Stefan chuckled grimly, and there had been a minute of silence before Mia was able to say more.

"Stefan... actually, I'm... sorry for... being so caught up... in my own thoughts, that... I never.. made _you_ a promise.. y-y'know?" Mia had to gasp a breath of air before continuing, "I... should have... and now... I can't. Maybe... Zihark... was right..."

"Hm? Right about what?" Stefan asked.

"Well, I... mean about... how sometimes.. th-things just tend to... happen. I... thought.. about it.. for a while, and... I think... something... else... was..." Mia couldn't finish the sentence, hoping that her friend would understand her anyway. She was, rather, in a panicked hurry to say what she wanted to say next before the chance slipped away, and it was happening slowly.

"Something else?"

"I... I.. think... that maybe..." Another pause, and with that, another continuation, "I-I was starting... to maybe.. develop feelings.. for you, Stefan..."

No response.

"I mean, I... I know I cared... about you... a whole lot, but... when I.. when I thought... the one day... in the rain... when that... one guy almost... when he.. attacked you, I... started.. to remember everything..."

"You mean, all we've done together?"

"Well... basically. Losing... Zihark was... one thing... but... when... I thought... about... things.. be without.. you... as well, I..." The haze started to engulf Mia as her difficulty in speaking increased; in other words, she didn't quite know where she was anymore, and she knew right away she wouldn't last too much longer.

"Well, Mia... now it's your turn to promise me something as well."

"Hu... Huh? Like... what.. ?"

"Promise me," Stefan said with a slight smile, "Not to blame yourself too much anymore, and to remember this for when next we meet: I love you too, Mia."

Mia smiled as well, and a single, small tear started to roll down her right cheek. "I... promise."

'o'o'o'

Mordecai had been rather concerned about Stefan after that; when he asked what happened, he merely replied, "A Goldoan dragon hindered my movement drastically, but at least Mia is at peace now."

After Ashnard was defeated, Stefan bid farewell to Ike and the others and returned to the Grann Desert. They say that, the night he left, the remaining member of the swordmaster trio stood on a hillside, watching the fireflies dance patterns along the night sky in rememberance of the two friends he lost.

"Heh, Mia... I wonder... did you ever meet your white-clad archrival yet?"

'o'o'o'

_"Hey, Micaiah. You cannot sleep, hm?"_

_"Oh, Stefan! You startled me. Is there.. something you want?"_

_"You seem rather nervous tonight, Maiden of Dawn."_

_"Well, of course! We're so close to the Tower of Guidance... I wonder if we really can defeat Ashera."_

_"Heh, you almost sound like someone I knew once... about three years ago, actually, before the Mad King's War ended."_

_"You took part in it as well?"_

_"Yes, in fact. Tell me... since you seem rather awake tonight, would you like to hear a tale of some sorts?"_

_"What is it about?"_

_"Three years ago, I had... a couple of friends. See, we called ourselves the swordmaster trio. And... hm?"_

_"All right. I would like to hear it, Stefan."_

And so, Stefan told the Priestess of Dawn a story.

A story that begins, and ends, with a promise.

'o'o'o'

-End-

OMG THIS CHAPTER TOOK FOREVER AND AHHH AT THE ENDING

I seriously hope the ending wasn't too disappointing ; ;;;' Well, thanks to all who took their time to read and review and look forward to more from me if you'd like :'D


End file.
